He was viewed as a long-shot candidate for Orange County Property Appraiser, running against an insider, but Democrat Rick Singh, delivered a decisive blow to beat out long-time incumbent Bill Donegan, yesterday.
Singh, a professional appraiser, certified by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, handily won 53 percent of the vote to Donegan’s 47 percent, when all the votes were counted.
He perceives his victory as one, not only for the middle class, but also for the “little guy.” He also plans on protecting seniors, ensuring that they are “not taxed out of their homes.”
“I will be the property appraiser for all the people. I will be a property appraiser that is proactive, that is competent,” Singh said.
Singh anticipates that there will be a mess to clean up once he takes up office. As he puts it, for more than a decade, over $100 million-a-year in assessments are overturned by professional appraisers, because valuations have not been fair and equitable. He believes that this has stemmed from incompetence, as Donegan is not a certified property appraiser.
“From my first day on the job, I would begin an assessment of the Property Appraiser’s Office, including an appraisal of practices, policies and procedures, as well as a review of all personnel and systems,” he said. “Prescriptions will be developed to clean up the mess, then work on implementing the changes will begin.”
